Maharashtra districts urged to ramp up surveillance, testing strategies amid spike in new Covid-19 cases

There has been a 45 per cent rise in new Covid-19 infections in the April 20-26 week in Maharashtra

In Pune, the number of new Covid-19 infections was 151 on April 16 and 10 days later on April 26, the number increased to 215 (Express photo by Ashish Kale, file)

With Maharashtra reporting a rise in new Covid-19 infections, the authorities have urged districts to step up testing strategies. “Have a high level of suspicion and improve surveillance for influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections. Whenever three-seven cases are found in a cluster, send the sample for genomic sequencing,” Dr Pradeep Vyas, Additional chief secretary (health), Maharashtra, said.

“It is advisable to wear masks in public spaces. There is a need to impress upon people that they need to wear masks at least in closed spaces like cinema halls, auditoriums and offices,” Dr Vyas told indianexpress.com.

Notably, there has been a 45 per cent rise in new Covid-19 infections in the April 20-26 week in Maharashtra. There were 1,036 new Covid-19 cases between April 20-26 as against 717 cases in the preceding week of April 13-19. According to state health department data, of the 943 Covid-19 infections in Maharashtra as on April 26, Mumbai had 549 active cases, Pune (215), Thane (77), Dhule (19) and Raigad (18).

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In Pune, the number of new Covid-19 infections was 151 on April 16 and 10 days later on April 26, the number increased to 215. According to the state bulletin, 186 new cases were reported Wednesday. No Covid-19 deaths were reported Wednesday and the case fatality rate was 1.87 per cent. Till date, the state has reported over 78 lakh Covid-19 infections and 1.47 lakh deaths.

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Meanwhile, the number of tests dropped from approximately 35,655 on April 7 to 19,935 on April 26. While Maharashtra’s weekly Covid-19 positivity rate was less than one per cent, Dhule, Pune, Akola, Mumbai, Sindhudurg and Hingoli were among the districts where the rate was higher than the state average, said officials.

Dr Vyas also said that it was important to keep a plan ready for non-Covid services once the number of cases starts increasing rapidly. “Do not turn all government hospitals into Covid-19 hospitals. Try to pool in patients from a few locations as hospitalisation is likely to be less,” Dr Vyas said. He further stressed on the need for completing the ongoing work for PSA oxygen generation plants on priority and promoting vaccination.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More

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